Our values
How we’re doing what we’re doing.
As a Vineyard church, we carry a set of distinctive beliefs and practices. These are often expressed as simple, memorable sayings. These values reflect some of the Vineyard distinctives that resonate with us as a church.
Come as you are.
Don’t stay as you are.
The example of Jesus shows us that anyone can join in the journey of following him. You don’t have to look, dress, or talk a certain way to come to church. You don’t even have to believe what we believe. However, as human beings we are always learning, and always growing. We all need to be open to change.
The bible is our plumb line.
Jesus himself is ‘truth’, but the bible is how we know what we know about Jesus. We believe it’s the book God meant us to have, and will never lead us astray. As strange and confusing as it might sometimes be, the bible will always lead us towards God.
Everyone gets to play.
Everyone needs to play.
Jesus’ strategy for bringing the good news of the kingdom wasn’t to do it on his own. It was to equip and release others to do it. In our own context, ministry and mission is not the job of ministers and missionaries. It’s the job of all Jesus’ followers.
Naturally supernatural.
Supernaturally natural.
When Jesus showed up in person, extraordinary things happened — people were healed, set free, and raised from the dead. We have no reason to believe it should be any different today. At the same time, we also recognise that Jesus can be extraordinarily present in the simplest and most ordinary of moments.
The now and the not yet.
Through his ministry, death, and resurrection, Jesus set in motion the coming of God’s kingdom. It will come in fullness when he returns. In the meanwhile, we sometimes see this kingdom come powerfully into our present situation, and sometimes we don’t. Even when we can’t explain why, we believe that God is always good.
Come Holy Spirit.
We’re just ordinary people, but we can see powerful change in our city because we’re filled by God’s Spirit. We believe Holy Spirit is present whenever we gather, and remains with us as we go into our mission field. We always invite him to fill us with his power.
Keeping the main thing the main thing.
There are some things we believe strongly, which shape who we are and how we do church. There are other beliefs that fall into the category of opinion or preference — we celebrate a diversity of these views and our experience of church is richer as a result.
Curious?
If you’re interested in finding out more about Toowoomba Vineyard Church, we’d love to connect.